Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, Christmas 2010, brew #379, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 8.0%. Ingredients include barley malts, wheat malts (6 different malts, the base malt grown in the brewery’s own field), cane sugar, Belgian ale yeast, aniseed, coriander and 2 American hops. Dark brown colour, slightly hazy, big and lasting beige head. Moderate aroma, notes of malts, caramel, anise and coriander. Full and rich mouthfeel. Malty flavour, medium+ sweetness, caramel, distinct notes of anise, subdued hops. I am not a fan of anise, but this beer is not too bad.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 8.5%. Cloudy brown colour, big off-white head. Moderate aroma of brown malts and brown candi sugar, hints of Christmas spices. Flavour of brown sugar and malts, medium sweet, moderately spicy finish. Minimal hops. Nice enough, pleasant to drink, but maybe not exceptional.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

250 ml bottle, wrapped in silk paper in a metal cylinder, from Vinmonopolet. Batch #373, ABV is 15.5%. Ingredients include sugars and coffee. 100 IBU. Pitch black colour, moderate greyish brown head. Strong aroma of stale cold coffee, roasted barley and dark bitter chocolate. Warming mouthfeel. Very sweet (too sweet) and sugary flavour, notes of sweetened coffee, syrup, chocolate and liquorice. The bitterness seems quite moderate, because of the overwhelming sweetness. Hints of resin in the aftertaste. Well worth sampling, but this is the least successful edition of Dark Horizon so far. Won’t buy again, as it is also quite expensive..

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, a Christmas present from my nephew Einar, thanks! ABV is 3.7%. Amber to brown colour, moderate head, slightly off-white. Nice aroma of toffee and floral hops, just a hint of citrus. The flavour is well hopped for its strength, with herbal and citrussy notes, on a background of toffee and malts. Highly drinkable, a pleasant English session ale - among so many others, yes, but well worth a session of its own.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, a Christmas present from my nephew Einar, thanks! ABV is 4.9%. Copper coloured beer, moderate off-white head, nice lacing. Moderate malty aroma, notes of bakery and caramel, hints of red fruits. The flavour is fairly malty with distinct notes of caramel and brown bread, in a blind test I might first mistake this ale for a German dunkel. The earthy hops in the finish are more pronounced than in most dunkels, though. A very drinkable beer!

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, a Christmas present from my nephew Einar, thanks! ABV is 4.6%. Black colour, big to moderate tan head, nice lacing. Moderate aroma of roasted malts, some fruity hints. The flavour is crisp, fairly dry and moderately roasty throughout, hints of lemons (is Cascade in a stout really a good idea?). Very drinkable, but not the most impressive stout I’ve had.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

650 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.0%. 19 degrees Plato. Malts are 2-row pale malt, European pilsner malt and white wheat. Kettle hops are Magnum and Mount Hood, dry hops are Santium, Sterling and Mount Hood. Golden colour, big white head. Strong and delightful aroma of American hops, also notes of orange marmalade. The flavour is very hoppy but not extreme, with hints of pine needles, on a background of sweet malts with hints of orange marmalade and some caramel. Alcohol is noticeable, but not dominant. A good lager, but I can’t help thinking that it would taste even better if it were an ale ...

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 5.3%. Copper to amber colour, big to moderate off-white head. Malty and nutty aroma, also notes of toffee and caramel. The flavour has a moderate malty sweetness and nutty and biscuity notes, hints of raisins and caramel. "Dusty" hops in the finish, bitter aftertaste. Quite good.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 5%. Fairly dark brown colour, big beige head. Nice aroma of lightly toasted malts, caramel and dark fruits. The flavour is malty with notes of brown bread and caramel. Some fruity hints too, low bitterness but not completely void of hops. Decent enough.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle conditioned, as Fuller’s Past Masters XX Strong Ale. This is the first beer in their Pasters Masters Heritage series. ABV is 7.5%. Clear amber colour, big to moderate head, slightly off-white. Moderate but nice aroma, notes of dark fruits and berries, also toffee. Fairly rich and slightly warming mouthfeel. The alcohol is not well hidden, but that doesn’t bother me much. Feels even stronger than it actually is, though. Rather sweet flavour, malts + dark fruits and berries again, distinct English hops in the finish and aftertaste. Well worth sampling.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

355 ml bottle, from Voldby Kødmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is not mentioned on the label. Deep golden colour, big to moderate white head. Moderate aroma - malts, a little caramel, hints of orange marmalade. The flavour is moderately malty with hints of toffee and oranges, and is smooth and pleasant to drink - but the hoppiness is nowhere near an American IPA. Still, there are some hops in the finish, and the overall impression is a fairly well balanced premium bitter / ESB.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger, ABV is 4.7%. Very dark brown colour, big beige head. Nice aroma of fruity and grape-like Nelson Sauvin hops, some roasty notes too, hints of dark chocolate. Refreshing flavour, mostly due to the hops, but there are also distinct and dry roasty notes, hints of ashes in the finish. A decent enough beer, but I am still not convinced that the recently invented combination of fruity hops and dark roasty beer is the best idea ever.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml clear bottle, bought at Systembolaget. ABV is 4.5%. Deep golden to amber colour, big head, slightly off-white. Moderate aroma of floral hops, hints of grass. The flavour has pleasant Goldings hops throughout, on a relatively dry and biscuity background, with just a slight fruitiness. There are definitely worse summer ales than this one around. Highly drinkable.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 8.5%. Dark amber to copper colour, cloudy in the end, big off-white head. Malty aroma with notes of brown bread and caramel, hints of brown kandi sugar and oak. The flavour is malty and medium sweet with notes of caramel, brown sugar and brown bread, some spicy notes too, moderate hops in the finish. Warming mouthfeel. Quite nice.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Cask at The Harp, London, as The Fat Cat Honey Ale (has also been known as Honey Cat). Deep golden to amber colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of honey, hints of toffee. The flavour has moderate notes of honey, but is not too sweet. Smooth to drink, with a decent hoppy bitterness in the finish.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

750 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.6%. Cloudy golden colour, large to moderate white head. High level of carbonation in the mouth. Strong aroma and flavour of spelt, honey and chamomile, also notes of white kandi sugar and "Belgian" ale yeast. Noticeable hops in the finish. Quite good.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

375 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 17.5%. Pitch black colour, large brown head. Very malty and sweetish aroma, roasty, strong notes of whisky, vanilla and oak. Intense roasty and very sweet flavour, notes of strong coffee, whisky and vanilla. Alcohol burn throughout. Too much of the good stuff.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Cask (handpump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 7.2%. Amber colour, moderate head. Fairly nice aroma, some fruit and malts. The flavour has also fruit and malts, but is not too sweet. Decent hops in the finish.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Cask (handpump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 4.2%. Golden colour, low head. Moderate hops in the aroma. Very well hopped flavour throughout, with a nice bitterness.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

355 ml bottle, from the foreign beer bar at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 5.5%. Mahogany to dark ruby colour, big beige head. Malty aroma with notes of Schwarzbrot and caramel. The flavour is also very malty with notes of caramel and brown bread, very moderate hops. Nice enough to drink.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at The Quakerhouse, Darlington. ABV is 4.5%. Golden colour, creamy white head. Moderate fruity aroma, hints of tropical fruits. Reasonably hoppy flavour with a medium bitterness, and enough malts to support it.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

330 ml stubby bottle, as Bocq Gauloise Blonde, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.3%, Ext.Sec .Prim. 14,0%. Hazy pale yellow colour, huge white head. Nice fruity and mildly spicy aroma of Belgian ale yeast, some grassy and herbal hops too. Mild and slightly spicy flavour, some light fruit too, high level of carbonation, refreshing.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750 ml corked and wired bottle, kindly shared by abemorsten. ABV is 10%. Dark ruby colour, huge tan head. The aroma has strong notes of coffee and ashes. The flavour has notes of coffee, roasted barley and ashes. Fairly dry.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, from The Cheese & Wine Shop, Darlington. ABV is 4.5%. Black colour, large to moderate tan head. Aroma of roasted barley and cold coffee, hints of ashes. Dry flavour, roasty notes of coffee and dark chocolate, a hint of ashes again. Moderate bitterness.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, bought at Newcastle Intl Airport. ABV is 4.2%. Deep golden colour, large white head. Nice aroma of floral and herbal hops. Soft mouthfeel. The medium dry and refreshing flavour has some malts with hints of toffee and nuts, also some herbal hops, but the bitterness is quite moderate.